Like a River Glorious

By: Rae Carson

Narrated by: Erin Mallon

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

The sequel to the New York Times best-selling and National Book Award long-listed Walk on Earth a Stranger.

After her harrowing journey west to California, Lee Westfall has finally found a new home - one rich in gold, thanks to her magical power, a power that seems to be changing every day. But this home is rich in other ways, too: with friends who are searching for a place to be themselves, just as she is, and with love. Jefferson - her longtime best friend - hasn't stopped trying to win her heart. And Lee is more and more tempted to say yes.

But her uncle Hiram hasn't given up his quest to get Lee and her power under his control. When she's kidnapped and taken to him, Lee sees firsthand the depths of her uncle's villainy. Yet Lee's magic is growing. Gold no longer simply sings to her, it listens. It obeys her call. Is it enough to destroy her uncle once and for all?

Rae Carson, acclaimed author of the Girl of Fire and Thorns series, takes us deep into the gold fields as she continues this sweeping saga of magic and history and an unforgettable heroine who must come into her own.

©2016 Rae Carson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Golden sequel!

Would you listen to Like a River Glorious again? Why?

Yes! This sequel gives the reader everything that a sequel should: revelations, tension, terror, hope and in this one, lots of gold. The pacing was perfect for me as we learn about mining, life in California and the progression of Leah's story.

What other book might you compare Like a River Glorious to and why?

I would compare it to the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix because there's a great balance of passing time and building tension to the plot.

Have you listened to any of Erin Mallon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listened to Walk on Earth a Stranger and I love Mallon's narration. She's up there with some of my top favorite narrators. Her tender emotion gripped at my own emotions many times and her soft Southern accent gives extra life and authenticity to the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some parts made me giggle and some made me tense when things were quickly escalating. There's a few shockers in this book and I felt uncertainty when the book ends. I have no idea where the final book will go, but that's a good thing. Carson has managed to make me feel something in every book, which had been somewhat rare for me in the past.

Any additional comments?

This is a special series that I don't know that we'll see again. The backdrop of 1849 America is wild, terrifying, realistic and beautiful. There's a healthy romantic relationship that builds in this book, as well as great messages of serving others, tolerance of others and bravery. Highly recommended series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Old west meets magic

You gotta love writing that has fictional characters you're so angry with you need to put the book down for awhile.

I love Rae Carson's writing!

The author is gifted period piece writer. After reading her other series I was so impressed how she completely envelopes you in yet another world and time. Never predictable and always impossible to put down. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time!

Adventure with a hint of magic

This seemed to conclude the story for Leah Westfall. The California history of gold mines, indian and chinese slavery and the settlements reminds me of all adversity and sacrifices made for land. If you like adventure, history, and a hint of magic you will like this book.

Strong Second Showing

Like a River Glorious is a wonderful YA anomaly. Usually, the second book of a trilogy is much weaker than the first. But Rae Carson obviously took her time and thoroughly thought through this book. I picked up Walk on Earth a Stranger, not expecting to like it, but I was immediately enthralled, so I grabbed the next two books and proceeded to spend the next few days listening at every spare second. I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this captivating story and its characters. This sequel was great, and I'm thrilled to add it to my collection!

Leah has been everything that a strong female lead should be, including those few character flaws that truly bring her to life. And with this sequel, she continues to grow, not just as a character, but in her abilities as well. Villains return and have a much larger role in this book. Hiram Westfall is truly the character that you just love to hate. With a passion. There are also introductions to some new characters that are just as vivid as the returning cast.

This book had a bit of a quicker pace than the first with many exciting events and intrigues to move the story along. Also, romance was a stronger theme.

The story is rife with racism, sexism, and prejudice on almost a monumental level. It was terrible and made my blood boil from the sheer injustice and cruelty. I can't understand how Lee could control herself and not try to beat her uncle into a pulp! But maybe that's just me.

Overall, Like a River Glorious is a wonderful sequel to Walk on Earth a Stranger.

Amazing story telling, fabulous world and character development

One of the best books I have heard this year. About the California gold rush. A young woman in danger and her best male friend join a caravan of people traveling through unimaginable danger to stake claims in California. Indian attacks, buffalo stampedes, betrayals and other deaths and murders make for dangers times. Enjoyable narration.

Great stortelling, perfect marration

I normally don't review books, but this series is outstanding. The narration is spot on, the story transports you to another time. The amount of detail is incredible in a natural fluid way.

Solid Second Book From an Excellent Author

This was a pretty solid follow-up to book one, which I really loved. I enjoyed having more time with some of my favorite characters, and it wrapped up more thoroughly than a lot of 2nd books do, which I appreciate.

Rae Carson has a great voice in the YA world. She writes strong, interesting female characters, grows relationships slowly, and includes a lot of diverse characters and perspectives which provides a nice depth to her worlds. I will definitely read book 3.

Also, the narration is excellent. I will listen to/own the entire series on audiobook (as it comes out), since it's such an enjoyable story to listen to.

A gem of a story. Definitely recommend it!

This series is great. I loved Rae Carson's Fire and Thorn series a few years back and was looking for a new book and came across this series. I would definitely recommend it. I had gone through a few audiobooks where either the story was silly or the narrator was bad, but these books did not suffer from that. I thought the story was original with lots of details of life during the gold rush. The characters were fairly well flushed out and were not unidimensional like they are in so many fantasy novels. In fact, I hesitate to call this fantasy because the fantasy elements were really minor. I gave the story 4 stars because it did get a little slow in some places. Also, I would like to see a little more detail about the magical aspects of her "gift" and understand a little more about whether there are others like her, etc (I guess I'm asking for some additional world building in the concluding book). The narrator was absolutely excellent. A pleasure to listen to and I will be getting the third book in October when it comes out.

Good Story, interesting

I really liked the story, Lee was a good strong female heroine. The story was an interesting mix of historical fiction and fantasy. Rae Carson chose to address many social issues throughout the story, such as treatment of Indians, Chinese, and women in the historical time period of the California Gold Rush. Some were relevant to the story and advanced it. Others were a little discordant such as the homosexual men who were pretty open about it--not something that would have happened at that time period. Overall, it was entertaining.